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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Portability
    2. Build Quality
    3. Body
    4. In The Box
    5. Ergonomics & Comfort
    6. Viewfinder
    7. Screen
    8. Menu System
    9. Built-In Lens
    10. Sensor
    11. Battery
  5. Photo General
    1. Photo Shooting Speed
    2. Photo AF-C Tracking
    3. Photo AF-C Center Point
    4. Photo Image Stabilization
  6. Photo Image Quality
    1. Photo RAW Dynamic Range
    2. Photo RAW Sharpness
    3. Photo RAW Noise
  7. Pictures Sample Gallery
    1. The Skate Park Picture
    2. The Polish Church Picture
    3. The Studio Picture
    4. The Stairway Picture
  8. Video General
    1. Video Features
    2. Audio
    3. Video File Format And Compression
  9. 4k Video
    1. 4k Video Frame Rate
    2. 4k Video Internal Recording
    3. 4k Video Autofocus Performance
    4. 4k Video Quality
    5. 4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  10. Full HD Video
    1. FHD Video Frame Rate
    2. FHD Video Internal Recording
    3. FHD Video Autofocus Performance
    4. FHD Video Quality
    5. FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  11. Video Image Quality
    1. Video Dynamic Range
    2. Luminosity Patch Detection
  12. Storage And Connectivity
    1. Storage
    2. Inputs / Outputs
  13. Comments

Sony α7 II vs Nikon Z 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sony α7 II
Nikon Z 5

Tested using Methodology v0.12.1

Updated Jan 23, 2024 09:25 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.13

Updated Mar 25, 2025 04:45 PM

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Amazon.com
Sony α7 II Picture
Nikon Z 5 Picture

Variants

  • α7 II (Black (Body Only))
  • α7 II (Black W/ 28-70mm Lens)
  • Z 5 (Black (Body Only))
  • Z 5 (Black W/ 24-50mm lens)

Our Verdict

Sony α7 II

Nikon Z 5

The Nikon Z 5 is better overall than the Sony α7 II. It features a weather-sealed body with better ergonomics, a higher-resolution EVF, and better overall battery life. Its AF system is also more reliable. Though neither excels at video, the Z 5 can at least record in 4k despite a heavy crop. That said, there are generally more lens options available for the Sony.

0 

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Black (Body Only)
α7 II
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Black (Body Only)
Z 5
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Black W/ 28-70mm Lens
α7 II
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Black W/ 24-50mm lens
Z 5
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Main Differences for
Travel Photography

Threshold 

0.10

Travel Photography 

7.3
7.5

Photo AF-C Center Point 
 

5.8
9.7

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 
 

1/10 s
1/30 s

Battery 
 

6.8
9.3

Portability 
 

4.6
3.5

Screen Max Brightness 
 

990 cd/m²
524 cd/m²

Full Comparison

Design

Portability 
 

4.6
3.5

Portability Picture  

Sony α7 II Portability Picture
Nikon Z 5 Portability Picture

Height 
 

3.8" (9.6 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)

Width 
 

5.5" (13.9 cm)
5.6" (14.1 cm)

Depth 
 

2.9" (7.3 cm)
3.5" (9.0 cm)

Volume 
 

59.4 in³ (972.8 cm³)
79.0 in³ (1,294.4 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.34 lbs (0.61 kg)
1.52 lbs (0.69 kg)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.5

Build Quality Picture  

Sony α7 II Build Quality Picture
Nikon Z 5 Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Body  

Body Picture  

Sony α7 II Body Picture
Nikon Z 5 Body Picture

Body Type 
 

SLR-Style
SLR-Style

Water Resistance 
 

No
Weather-Sealed

Mirrorless 
 

Yes
Yes

Rugged 
 

No
No

Hot Shoe 
 

Yes
Yes

Customizable Button 
 

Yes
Yes

Command Dial 
 

3
2

Tripod Mount 
 

Yes
Yes

Lens Mount 
 

E-Mount
Z Mount

Built-In Flash 
 

No
No

Fastest Shutter Speed 
 

1/8,000 s
1/8,000 s
Show Text 

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Sony α7 II In The Box Picture
Nikon Z 5 In The Box Picture
Show Text 

Ergonomics & Comfort 
 

8.5
9.0

Hand Grip Picture  

Sony α7 II Hand Grip Picture
Nikon Z 5 Hand Grip Picture

Hand Grip: Small Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Medium Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Large Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Viewfinder 
 

EVF Menu Picture  

Sony α7 II EVF Menu Picture
Nikon Z 5 EVF Menu Picture

Viewfinder Type 
 

Electronic
Electronic

Advertised Coverage 
 

100%
100%

Advertised Resolution 
 

2.36 million dots
3.69 million dots

Advertised Magnification 
 

0.71
0.8
Show Text 

Screen 
 

6.8
7.1

Screen Picture  

Sony α7 II Screen Picture
Nikon Z 5 Screen Picture

Screen Articulation Type 
 

Tilting
Tilting

Screen Max Brightness 
 

990 cd/m²
524 cd/m²

Advertised Resolution 
 

1.23 million dots
1.04 million dots

Size 
 

3.0" (7.5 cm)
3.2" (8.1 cm)

Touchscreen 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Menu System 
 

6.0
9.0

Screen Menu Picture  

Sony α7 II Screen Menu Picture
Nikon Z 5 Screen Menu Picture

Guide Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

App Name 
 

Imaging Edge Mobile
Nikon SnapBridge
Show Text 

Built-In Lens 
 

0.0
0.0

Aperture Vs Focal Length  

Sony α7 II Aperture Vs Focal Length
Nikon Z 5 Aperture Vs Focal Length

Maximum Aperture 
 

No built-in lens
No built-in lens

Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Minimum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Maximum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Optical Image Stabilization 
 

No
No

Light Falloff Picture  

Sony α7 II Light Falloff Picture
Nikon Z 5 Light Falloff Picture

Luminance 
 

N/A
N/A

Light Falloff 
 

N/A
N/A

Sensor 
 

Sensor Type 
 

CMOS
CMOS

Advertised Effective Pixels 
 

24.3 MP
24.3 MP

Processor 
 

BIONZ X
EXPEED 6

Sensor Size 
 

Full Frame
Full Frame

Extended ISO Minimum 
 

50
50

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO) 
 

100
100

Native ISO Maximum 
 

25,600
51,200

Tested Firmware 
 

Ver. 4.01
1.40
Show Text 

Battery 
 

6.8
9.3

Battery Type 
 

Sony NP-FW50
Nikon EN-EL15C

USB Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Delivery While Recording 
 

No
Yes

Advertised Battery Life In Photo 
 

350 photos
470 photos

Tested Battery Life In Video 
 

104 min
154 min
Show Text 
Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed 
 

4.7
5.7

Low Speed Continuous 
 

4 fps
1 fps

High Speed Continuous 
 

5 fps
5 fps

Silent Shooting Continuous 
 

N/A
3 fps

Raw Buffer Size 
 

11 Photos
100 Photos

JPEG Buffer Size 
 

65 Photos
100 Photos

Buffer Empty Time 
 

13 s
1 s
Show Text 

Photo AF-C Tracking 
 

5.0
6.8

Autofocus Tracking Shots  

tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

35%
56%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

56%
70%
Show Text 

Photo AF-C Center Point 
 

5.8
9.7

Autofocus Center Point Shots  

center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

60%
96%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

76%
100%
Show Text 

Photo Image Stabilization 
 

8.0
6.6

Stabilization Slideshow  

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 
 

1/10 s
1/30 s

In-Body Image Stabilization 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range 
 

8.8
8.9

Dynamic Range Scene  

Sony α7 II Dynamic Range Scene
Nikon Z 5 Dynamic Range Scene

Dynamic Range At Base ISO 
 

11.1 f-stops
11.3 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time 
 

9.8 f-stops
9.8 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time 
 

7.4 f-stops
7.5 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time 
 

6.8 f-stops
6.9 f-stops
Show Text 

Photo RAW Sharpness 
 

8.9
8.4

Sharpness Scene Crop  

Sony α7 II Sharpness Scene Crop
Nikon Z 5 Sharpness Scene Crop

MTF Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

2,041 LW/PH
2,287 LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

2,574 LW/PH
1,788 LW/PH
Show Text 

Photo RAW Noise 
 

7.6
8.0

Noise Scene Crop  

Sony α7 II Noise Scene Crop
Nikon Z 5 Noise Scene Crop

Noise Vs Exposure Time  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms) 
 

34.0dB
35.2 dB

SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms) 
 

31.9 dB
32.7 dB

SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms) 
 

27.6 dB
28.6 dB

SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms) 
 

22.2dB
23.4 dB
Show Text 
Pictures Sample Gallery

The Skate Park Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Skate Park   

Sony α7 II Sample Gallery - Skate Park
Nikon Z 5 Sample Gallery - Skate Park

JPEG Skate Park Picture  

RAW Skate Park Picture  

The Polish Church Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Church  

Sony α7 II Sample Gallery - Church
Nikon Z 5 Sample Gallery - Church

JPEG Polish Church Picture  

RAW Polish Church Picture  

The Studio Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Studio  

Sony α7 II Sample Gallery - Studio
Nikon Z 5 Sample Gallery - Studio

JPEG Studio Picture  

RAW Studio Picture  

The Stairway Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Stairway  

Sony α7 II Sample Gallery - Stairway
Nikon Z 5 Sample Gallery - Stairway

JPEG Stairway Picture  

RAW Stairway Picture  

Video General

Video Features  

Full HD Video 
 

Yes
Yes

4k Video 
 

No
Yes

6k Video 
 

No
No

Clean HDMI Output 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI 
 

Not Advertised
Not Advertised

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI 
 

N/A
N/A

Log Picture Profile 
 

Yes
No

Recording Light  
 

No
No
Show Text 

Audio  

Audio Test Sample 
 

Audio Recording 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Microphone Level Display 
 

Yes
Yes

Video File Format And Compression  

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
Yes

MP4 H.265 / HEVC 
 

No
No

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

No
Yes

MOV H.265 / HEVC 
 

No
No

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
No

All-I Compression 
 

No
No
4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate 
 

0.0
5.8

240 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

120 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

60 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

30 fps In 4k 
 

No
Yes, with a Crop

24 fps In 4k 
 

No
Yes, with a Crop

4k Crop At Max Available fps 
 

N/A
1.58 x
Show Text 

4k Video Internal Recording 
 

0.0
7.8

Bitrate Maximum In 4k 
 

N/A
129 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k 
 

N/A
128 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k 
 

No
4:2:0

Bit Depth In 4k 
 

0 Bit
8 Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k 
 

0 min
30 min

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k 
 

N/A
0
Show Text 

4k Video Autofocus Performance 
 

0.0
6.7

4k Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In 4k 
 

0
5.3

4k Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In 4k 
 

0
8.7

Face Detection In 4k 
 

No
Yes

Eye Detection In 4k 
 

No
No
Show Text 

4k Video Quality 
 

0.0
7.8

4k Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In 4k  

0
7.0

4k Test Scene Extract  

Sony α7 II 4k Test Scene Extract
Nikon Z 5 4k Test Scene Extract

Test Scene Extract In 4k  

N/A
8.5
Show Text 

4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

0.0
3.8

Rolling Shutter Video in 4k  

4k Rolling Shutter 
 

N/A
10.0°
Show Text 
Full HD Video

FHD Video Frame Rate 
 

8.5
8.5

240 fps In FHD 
 

No
No

120 fps In FHD 
 

No
No

60 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

30 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

24 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

FHD Crop At Max Available fps 
 

1 x
1 x
Show Text 

FHD Video Internal Recording 
 

7.5
7.6

Bitrate Maximum In FHD 
 

50 Mbps
56 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In FHD 
 

21 Mbps
29 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In FHD 
 

4:2:0
4:2:0

Bit Depth In FHD 
 

8 Bit
8 Bit

Record Time Limit in FHD 
 

30 min
30 min
Show Text 

FHD Video Autofocus Performance 
 

6.9
7.7

Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In FHD 
 

6.5
8.3

FHD Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In FHD 
 

8.0
8.1

Face Detection In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

Eye Detection In FHD 
 

No
Show Text 

FHD Video Quality 
 

7.5
7.3

FHD Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In FHD  

8.0
7.0

FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD  

Sony α7 II FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD
Nikon Z 5 FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD

Test Scene Extract In FHD  

7.0
7.5
Show Text 

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

6.8
7.0

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD  

FHD Rolling Shutter 
 

4.7°
4.0°
Show Text 
Video Image Quality

Video Dynamic Range 
 

6.9

Video Dynamic Range Waveform  

Nikon Z 5 Video Dynamic Range Waveform

Video Dynamic Range Slideshow  

Strict SNR Max Dynamic Range 
 

9.83 stops

Lenient SNR Max Dynamic Range 
 

9.83 stops

Background Floor Max Dynamic Range 
 

9.83 stops
Show Text 

Luminosity Patch Detection 
 

5.9

Luminosity Patch Detection Chart  

Nikon Z 5 Luminosity Patch Detection Chart

Above Middle Gray 
 

3.97 stops

Below Middle Gray 
 

8.26 stops
Show Text 
Storage And Connectivity

Storage  

Card Slot Picture  

Sony α7 II Card Slot Picture
Nikon Z 5 Card Slot Picture

Card 1 Slot 
 

SD Card UHS-I
SD Card UHS-II

Card 2 Slot 
 

No 2nd Card Slot
SD Card UHS-II
Show Text 

Inputs / Outputs 
 

7.8
9.5

Input Picture  

Sony α7 II Input Picture
Nikon Z 5 Input Picture

USB 
 

Micro USB
USB-C

HDMI 
 

Micro (Type D)
Mini (Type C)

Headphones 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Check Price

Black (Body Only)
α7 II
Searching
Finding store
Black (Body Only)
Z 5
Searching
Finding store
Black W/ 28-70mm Lens
α7 II
Searching
Finding store
Black W/ 24-50mm lens
Z 5
Searching
Finding store

Sony α7 II

Nikon Z 5

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Sony α7 II vs Nikon Z 5: Main Discussion

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